The present invention is directed to a method for calculating a route from a current location to at least one destination location via at least one pass-through destination location according to the preamble of the independent patent claim.
Vehicle navigation devices available and distributed today, e.g., by the company Blaupunkt-Werke GmbH, Hildesheim, allow automatic route calculation from the current vehicle position to the destination location input (after user input of a destination location), and they guide the driver of the vehicle along the calculated trip route from the particular instantaneous vehicle location to the destination location by outputting trip instructions, preferably acoustic instructions.
The route calculation is usually performed by taking into account a specified or user-specifiable optimization criterion such as the quickest or shortest route from the current location to the destination location. There is no provision for taking into account user preferences with regard to a certain preferred trip route or a certain preferred segment of road.
Such user preferences may be based, for example, on the fact that the user has detailed information regarding traffic obstacles on certain roads or segments of roads around which he must detour, or the driver may prefer known segments of road at the expense of a slight detour in comparison with segments of road with which he is not familiar. In addition, user preferences may also be based on a shortening of the time and/or distance that is possible by giving preference to well-developed state or federal highways over freeways, for example.
If the driver of a vehicle would like to be directed from a current position to a destination over a certain route, then in the case of known navigation devices, it is currently advisable to input intermediate destinations which prompt the navigation device to calculate a route from the current location to the intermediate location and from there to the actual destination location and thus to take into account certain preferred sections of road in the route calculation.
This method has the disadvantage that after the route calculation, the vehicle is navigated from the current location to the destination location by way of intermediate destinations input in such a way that the vehicle is navigated to the next intermediate destination until actually reaching the intermediate destination. This does not allow passing merely in the vicinity of the intermediate destination, as might actually be desired.